This isn't a D3 item, but I just noticed it today and it's too amusing to not share. Up in D1, CSU Fullerton has a roster of twelve international recruits, all from Italy. I'm not even Italian, but that coach is my hero.

Last NightBridgewater 70 #4 Lynchburg 81
Here's some laser-like basketball analysis from me: scoring four less points in the second half while allowing seven more points will not bring you good results if you were tied at halftime. Lynchburg stayed perfect on the year after falling a few points back after the break and then going on a mini-run after the halfway point of the second half to slowly pull away. Bridgewater fell despite shooting over 80% from the free throw line on 29 attempts, counter-acted by Lynchburg shooting just shy of 80% on 48 attempts.

ITaLRbHAGotN: Webster 88 Dominican 71. The Gorlok never gives you a chance.

GotN#7 Emory (10-1)(jojoe) at #9 Stillman (12-0)(swany623)
A really nice cross-divisional game between top ten opponents over in the University conference tonight. Stillman has obviously won their first two conference games while Emory won their first followed by an early night off. Both teams are in for brutal divisional races in the crazy-competitive U so wins against ranked teams can be huge. jojoe has won both meetings between the coaches and his teams if favored by 1 on the road.

Also considered: Christopher Newport at #5 North Carolina Wesleyan, Rivier at #13 S.Vermont, Utica at #16 Vassar, #19 Dallas at Trinity, Newbury at #21 Suffolk, and #23 Millsaps at Southwestern

Sim blowout watch: Three spreads in the 40's tonight: Millikin getting 45 at #17 Northland, Thiel with 43 hosting #25 Wooster, and Arcadia as a 41 point road dog at #22 Babson.

ITaLRbHAGotNMount St. Mary (7-5)(ftbeaglesfan) at Stevens Tech (9-3)(dbx4j)
An early important game over in the Skyline conference as the top two non-Merchant Marines teams play their cross-divisional game for the season. Both teams need quality wins to beef up their post-season resumes so the loser here will rue the lost opportunity. This is the first meeting between these two and the odds-makers have it as an even pick.

That is indeed dreadful, raucous, seven teams with RPI's in the 300's plus two more in the 290's. That's impressive. In a bad way. We've got one sim team left in the N.Coast if you'd like to make a move this off-season and experience the joy of a bruising conference season. On to last night's games.

Also considered: #5 North Carolina Wesleyan cruised past Christopher Newport 94-63, #9 S.Vermont downed Rivier at home 79-69, #12 Vassar slipped past Utica 58-52, #13 Dallas got the road victory at Trinity 60-53, #18 Suffolk made a late run to force overtime and then just pulled out the extra time win over Newbury 66-64, #20 Millsaps used a big second half to get past Southwestern 86-61.

ITaLRbHAGotN: It was a close, back-and-forth game in the Skyline as Stevens Tech. made their free throws and played enough defense down the stretch to come away with a hard-fought 66-63 home win over Mount St. Mary.

GotN#25 Sewanee (13-0)(madpad78) at #20 Millsaps (10-3)(brianxavier)
We're hanging out in the University for another night as the two 3-0 division leaders in the East face off for their first of two games this season. Sewanee still has a big winning streak going and taking down the two-time defending champs would be a big statement in the conference race. Millsaps lost some games in non-conference but they're back in the rankings and beating teams in the U. Some things never change. brian has a big lead in the all-time series but the visitors are favored by 1.

ITaLRbHAGotNGrove City (6-7)(platoisek) at Ohio Wesleyan (9-4)(otownaron)
We head to the North Coast for a solid game between West division hopefuls looking to keep pace in the divisional race. O-Wes is tied for second place and looking to strengthen their case for an NT bid while G-City is a game back and needing wins over the teams ahead of them to get back into it. otownaron has a 9-3 lead in the series and his team is favored by 7 at home.

I won a game last night! &#160;now I just need 12 more hahaha, what an awful season. &#160;Darnoc, I won't even blame you for this one... &#160;this one is all Pseudochamp's fault ;) &#160;Next season I should be an NT contender again, but nothing too special. &#160;I'm considering a move up to DII, what do you guys think? &#160;I've never tried DII before and Allegheny would be a pretty easy rebuild for a good coach who might want it.

Posted by ezekialstarr on 8/21/2014 11:41:00 PM (view original):I won a game last night! &#160;now I just need 12 more hahaha, what an awful season. &#160;Darnoc, I won't even blame you for this one... &#160;this one is all Pseudochamp's fault ;) &#160;Next season I should be an NT contender again, but nothing too special. &#160;I'm considering a move up to DII, what do you guys think? &#160;I've never tried DII before and Allegheny would be a pretty easy rebuild for a good coach who might want it.

I think that would be a terrible idea, ez! Rupp D2 would be so boring compared to Rupp D3...not to mention Darnoc would be completely lost in North Coast without you blaming him all the time. ;)

Seriously though...I personally find D2 boring compared to D3. It's basically the same game, except in D3 you can battle higher division schools for recruits and still win whereas in D2 that is impossible. D1 schools constantly stealing your recruits gets old fast.

Four games into conference play and we have eleven undefeated teams, including two sims, and just six teams looking for their first victory.

Last NightSewanee 69 #16 Millsaps 80
Millsaps played another solid game building up a small 5 point lead at the half and holding off repeated runs from Sewanee in the second. Millsaps and brian stayed perfect in conference play with the win and moved up a few spots in the rankings while Sewanee and madpad fell into the others receiving votes section after their first conference loss.

Also considered: #11 Dallas edged Stillman at home 63-55, Rhodes scored a big home upset over #8 Emory 69-56, #15 Bowdoin got a clutch lay-in at the buzzer and then finished off Worcester St in overtime 62-58, #13 Ramapo pulled away in the second half to beat William Peterson 73-54, #17 Suffolk nipped Emmanuel on the road 51-49, and much to everyone's delight #23 Wooster edged Wittenberg 62-54.

Sim blowout watch: We have a push! #4 Hiram made two free throws with four seconds left to equal the spread of 70 points as Thiel came so close to being our first official blowout victim of the conference season 53-123.

ITaLRbHAGotN: Ohio Wesleyan was down 2 at the break but they had a strong second half to quickly go back ahead and slowly pull away for an impressive 70-54 home victory over Grove City.

GotN#4 Hiram (13-0)(pepwaves) at #6 Earlham (13-0)(paul836)
It's a huge night for ranked meetings with a full five games featuring teams in the top 25, and we're going with the only battle of undefeated teams as our highlight. These two are tied atop the North Coast east division (with #2 Kenyon) so this is just part one of what promises to be an intense divisional race this season. The series between these two is also tied 3-3 and the visitors are favored by 1. Should be a great one.

Sim blowout watch: Washington and Jefferson is a 55 point home dog hosting undefeated #5 Lynchburg.

ITaLRbHAGotNBaldwin-Wallace (9-4)(scaturo) at Maryville (10-4)(nachopuzzle)
We have a good cross-divisional game tonight between Ohio conference rivals. Both teams have one conference loss and need to avoid another to keep pace in their divisional standings. scaturo leads the series 3-1 and his team is favored by 1 on the road. Also, mmmmmm nachos...

Last Night#2 Hiram 75 #7 Earlham 57I think the Earlham players should just pretend that they tied this game and say that the scoreboard just malfunctioned and reversed the numbers in their score. I'm pretty sure they can get away with that. Hiram was up by six after twenty minutes and the game stayed close for most of the second half as well. Around the six minute mark though, the visitors went on a 12-0 run to pretty much put the game out of reach. Hiram and pepwaves stayed perfect with the win and moved up two spots in the rankings while Earlham and paul fell one spot after their first loss. mmmmmm ham...

Also considered: #3 North Carolina Wesleyan pulled away in the second half to beat #8 Palm Beach Atlantic 84-70, #9 Whittier got the impressive road win over #15 Occidental 68-56, #12 Millsaps got past #19 Dallas at home 65-48, and #11 S.Vermont won a close one over #22 Suffolk 73-69.

ITaLRbHAGotN: Maryville scored a whopping 1 point in the final four minutes of the game but since they had a 10 point lead going into it, the still ended up defeating Baldin-Wallace 58-55.

GotN#2 Hiram (14-0)(pepwaves) at #5 Kenyon (12-2)(jsajsa)This is one of those times where I should have checked ahead in the schedule before I picked the featured game. If I would've seen that this was the only game tonight between ranked teams, I probably would've picked a non-North Coast game yesterday. Oh well, back-to-back Coasters it is. Fresh off a road win at a fellow undefeated top ten team, Hiram now travels to another divisional foe, this time top five. Kenyon suffered their first conference loss last night so they're a game back of Hiram and looking to bounce back. jsa has a 5-1 lead in the series and this one is an even pick.

Also considered: #11 S.Vermont at Newbury, #12 Millsaps at Hendrix, #19 Dallas at Sewanee, and Louisiana at #24 Stillman

Sim blowout watch: Carthage is a 56 point road dog at #21 Northland and E.Mennonite is getting 51 points while visiting #4 Lynchburg.

ITaLRbHAGotNRandolph-Macon (11-4)(mattwithanh) at Virginia Wesleyan (15-0)(robbman21)Over in the Old Dominion conference we have a good battle between West divisional foes. V-Wes is on quite a roll to start the season and Ran-Mac trails in the standings by one game. The series is split 1-1 and the home team is favored by 2.

Didn't get time for the writeup yesterday, time to get caught up. As always, pretend you read this yesterday.

Last Night#2 Hiram 66 #6 Kenyon 62
It was much closer than the previous featured game but Hiram comes out undefeated once again. The visitors held a six point lead at the start of the second half and they stayed in front the rest of the way, except for a brief tie with about three minutes to go. Kenyon kept it close and made several rallies including the one to get the mentioned tie late in the game. Hiram pulled it out however, with a couple key stops and successful free throw line trips. Hiram and pepwaves stayed perfect on the season while Kenyon and jsajsa dropped their second conference game and slipped a spot in the rankings.

Sim blowout watch: Carthage covered with ease against #23 Northland 52-70 and E.Mennonite had more trouble but still covered at #4 Lynchburg 55-90.

ITaLRbHAGotN: In an exciting game in the Old Dominion, Virginia Wesleyan came back from 6 down at the half to lock down the defense after the break and held on for a slim 89-88 win at home over Randolph-Macon.

GotNGreensboro (10-6)(tilldog28) at #7 Palm Beach Atlantic (13-3)(osgonlz)We have a nice cross-divisonal game down it the USA South conference between two teams chasing their divisional leaders. Both teams are one game back in the standings so a win here will keep pace in the division as well as give a nice boost to the post-season resume. tilldog leads the series 15-8 but the home team is favored by 5.

Also considered: Randolph-Macon at #4 Lynchburg, Mount St. Mary at #9 US Merchant Marines, #10 Earlham at Oberlin, #15 Millsaps at Ozarks, Southwestern at #16 Dallas, and Whitworth at #18 Willamette

Sim blowout watch: Winless Colby is a 63 point road dog at #11 Bowdoin and Thiel is getting 61 points on the road at #6 Kenyon.

ITaLRbHAGotNMary Washington (9-6)(reisel) at Gallaudet (10-6)(shonmurphy20)We head over to the Capital conference for a key early season game between divisional opponents. They're both trailing a sim for the divisional lead, Mary Washington is one back while Gallaudet is two games off the lead. This will be an important one in the race for a post-season bye as well as staying within striking distance of the divisional lead. reisel leads the series 5-3 and the visitors are favored by 1.

And now on to today's super thrilling writeup. Fasten your seat belts.

Last NightGreensboro 79 #11 Palm Beach Atlantic 69
This one was a very close game throughout including being tied at 38 at halftime. Neither team could get the upper hand until the visitors went on a 10-2 run just before the halfway point of the second half and Greensboro was able to hang on from then on. Greensboro and tilldog stayed a game back in the division with the win while PBA and osgonlz fall two games back and four spots in the rankings with their second conference loss.

Sim blowout watch: Both sims covered by about the same margins, Colby stayed winless but covered at #12 Bowdoin 52-84 and Thiel fell to #6 Kenyon 73-99.

ITaLRbHAGotN: Galludet opened up a 12 point lead at the half over Mary Washington and kept on going to score a 74-54 home victory.

GotN#15 S.Vermont (15-2)(sweetpeapapa) at #24 Johnson and Wales (14-3)(spasticity)A big cross-divisional game in the Great Northeast tonight as the two divisional leaders face off. J-Dub is perfect in conference for a two game lead in their division while S.Vermont is tied atop the West with two losses so far. This is the first meeting of these coaches and the home team is favored by 1.

ITaLRbHAGotNBaldwin-Wallace (11-5)(scaturo) at Capital (11-6)(xatomsmasher)
We go back to the Ohio conference for a key matchup in the North division. Captial is on top of the standings with one loss while Baldwin-Wallace is close behind with two other teams, all with two losses. Capital has a chance to put some more distance behind itself with a win but a win for the visitors would turn the division into a four-way free for all. xatomsmasher leads the series 5-2 and the odds-makers have it as an even pick.

Last Night#25 S.Vermont 68 #18 Johnson and Wales 92
J-Dub completely dominated the first half of this one, going into the break with an impressive 58-35 lead, and then coasted from there to a satisfying home victory. J-Dub and spasticity stayed perfect in conference with the win and climbed up into the teens rankings-wise while S.Vermont and sweetpeapapa fell a game behind in the divisional race and to the bottom of the rankings.

Also considered: #5 Emory got past Hendrix on the road 70-59, #3 Menlo did the same at Chapman 61-51, #11 Millsaps came from behind to down Rhodes 60-53, and #14 Occidental handled California Tech 78-65.

Sim blowout watch: Gwynedd-Mercy didn't keep it particularly close but they still managed a cover against #23 Babson 59-90.

ITaLRbHAGotN: Baldwin-Wallace was only up by 1 at the half but they slowly extended the lead and made their free throws down the stretch to finish off a key 67-62 road win over Capital.

GotN#4 Lynchburg (17-0)(googs04) at #24 Bridgewater (15-3)(diamond24)We have a rare rematch featured game tonight after the first game between these two made the GotN last week. Lynchburg won that game at home by 11 but neither team has lost since then so the visitors have a slim one game lead in the Old Dominion east division. A Lynchburg win will give them the season sweep and a formidable lead in the standings while a Bridgewater upset would tie them atop the division and be a solid boost to their post-season resume. The visitors are favored by 5.